Observations
by Izumi's Apprentice
Summary: Valentine's Fic: Lily notices it in the way her mother looks at the brunette with affection only she herself has seen, the way she cups her chin as though a delicate piece of china, not so much one that could be broken, but to be cherished for all time. As odd as it sounds from her, Lily thinks it's sweet to have that kind of intimacy with someone.


Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT

Author's Note: (late for ffnet) Valentine's prompt. **Holding Hands:** Our characters go on a walk, a little bit of hand holding included.

Observations

It's the little things that Lily takes note of at first but doesn't put much merit into. She knew from both her mother and from Henry that the two women had a good friendship and spent plenty of time together since the blonde's resurrection, but she never thought beyond that. She didn't know how deep that connection went, had never asked how that relationship was kindled or why. She notices it in the way her mother looks at the brunette with affection only she herself has seen, the way she cups her chin as though a delicate piece of china, not so much one that could be broken, but to be cherished for all time. Lily also takes unconscious note in the other small gestures, a reassuring hand on the shoulder when her mother gets flustered with this world's technology, or a light hand to the back in accordance to leading the other somewhere.

She's glad her mother has a friendship like that, even if she herself hadn't decided how she felt about either woman yet. The other brunette had deceived her to steal her blood and she hadn't seen the blonde until thirty years into life. Lily was warming up slowly to her mother but it was one of the slowest processes she had ever been privy to. She was scared to open up and get her heart torn to shreds again. Not unlike what happened when she and Emma parted.

The two always sit on the same side of the booth when they eat at the diner, or sit side by side when she's invited to the mayor's house for a meal and she's almost certain they know each other well enough to communicate silently, be it with their expression or subtle body language. She doesn't really mind. As odd as it sounds coming from her own thoughts, Lily thinks it's sweet to have that kind of intimacy with someone.

What she didn't actually notice was that fact that her mother lived with the brunette. Well...she had known but she had always assumed it was in a spare room. That house was so gigantic! Lily had spent the night once and never being one to go to sleep immediately when she was drunk, had wandered around the house and snooped. An old, and probably frowned upon habit with a woman she did not know, but all inhibition fell away when she was inebriated. As was common for most, it simply took more to get the dragon girl drunk, which led to problems when she was younger, but she had recovered for the most part. Needless to say, this particular night she was allowed to spend at the mayor's, she hadn't been able to say no to the delicious hard apple cider.

As she meandered the house in semi-moonlight—probably a half moon at best—she noticed that there weren't as many bedrooms as she had previously assumed. There was the master one, Henry's which was empty tonight, and the guest bedroom she was in. Frowning as her forehead creased to mimic her mouth, Lily crept down to the master bedroom and placed her ear to the side of the door, careful to not bump it in her haste. Upon not hearing a single peep, she bent down to peer through the keyhole, a fruitless endeavor in most cases, but it gave her the perfect view of the bed and witnessed that none were awake currently.

She took a staggering breath of air as she straightened her posture and slowly turned the knob of the door to open it. Thankfully, it hadn't squeaked a single iota and when it was ajar halfway she managed to spy a mane of blonde hair splayed on the pillows behind shorter brunette hair. Lily squinted her eyes, trying to understand the picture better, her haze of drunkenness not helping matters. She didn't dare to creep inside, unknowledgeable about any old wood panels or magical enchantments that might alert the two sorceresses to her presence, so she angled her head one way and then the other until she determined that her mother was curled protectively around the mayor as they slept. She huffed a noise of approval, nodding her head. How compassionate.

The thirty-year old then closed the door to the master bedroom and headed back to the guest room, not quite piecing any puzzles together in that particular moment. It would be in the morning after her daze that she would begin to question what she had witnessed the night before. Perhaps they had stayed up the night before talking and dozed off together. Or maybe it was a throwback to their time in the Enchanted Forest? Being a dragon, her mother was like a superheater for cold Maine nights like the one they had. Lily didn't mention her excursion over apple pancakes the next morning, keeping the little secret to herself and playing it off because it was none of her business.

It's when that stupid month comes around that she begins to get highly suspicious there's something more than friendship going on between them. They're not as tactile and are spending less time it seems with each other. Why that bothered the young woman, she couldn't quite understand, but it set off an alarm in her head all the same. Something was different, something had changed and she would be lying if she said it didn't worry her. It didn't affect her, but it did affect her mother. What if that change had been something bad and it upset the blonde? So, she sets it upon herself to be vigilant in watching the pair when they do interact, following them when they think they're alone because she honestly had nothing better to do, who was she kidding? She hadn't gotten a job, didn't want to work in this town, in fact...hadn't planned on staying these past five months.

Nothing is outwardly different between them. Nothing she hadn't seen on her own while knowingly in their presence, but there was less interaction. Quiet conversations with bowed heads, shoulders brushing now and then as they walked. Lily was befuddled and eventually gave up her game plan. It looked like it would resolve itself soon enough and that was okay with her, so she kept up what little pep she managed to squeeze out of herself when she and her mother hung out. Just in case something bad was brewing. Not to mention, it made her happy to see the blonde smile at her. A genuine one, not one born of necessity or some semblance of duty not fully anticipated as she had received in her youth from her adoptive parents.

Lily groans when Valentine's Day arrives. She had never had someone on the day nor any tragic break up beforehand to warrant a true hate for the holiday but she generally disliked most celebrations as a rule and one about love and romance and all that mushy garbage could go straight to hell's innermost circle. She begrudgingly gets out of bed and changes to meet up with the two women she had been spying on this past month for breakfast. Frankly, Lily wasn't looking forward to seeing the rest of the town's inhabitants acting out their love for another in front of everyone else. It was sickening and perverse, as though they _needed_ the approval of all who spotted them. Love wasn't supposed to be like that.

When she gets to the diner she pauses at the sight before her. Her mother and the mayor are there but...they're sitting in opposite booths, a pair of blue eyes watching her with a smile. Slowly she approaches, trying to hide the shock in her body, the fear of whom to sit beside. Does she sit by the woman she doesn't know and thus has no true ties to, or does she sit by her mother and open that can of emotional worms that she actually likes and or trusts the woman? Lily feels herself gulp down a wad of saliva as she comes upon the table and with as little hesitation as she can muster slides in beside the blonde. She tries not to notice the look between the older women as their waitress comes over and she swiftly orders a coffee and a plate of eggs with bacon.

Breakfast with the two wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be, focused more on the conversation than the attention-seeking couples around them, thankfully. They spoke of nothing in particular but she was engaged enough that before she realizes it, they've all finished their respective meals and Lily finds she was enjoying herself with them. The young woman brushes off the feeling and excuses herself, wishing them each a good day after answering her mother's question about what her plans were. She had none so she decided to say she was going to go for a walk or watch a movie and then left the diner. Before she opened the door, her heightened hearing picked up the brunette saying a walk sounded like a lovely idea.

Her afternoon was just as boring, lounging about her room, watching a variety of movies that had nothing to do with romance. She didn't mind romantic movies, but it was so cliched to fall in line with every other 'woe is me' single woman. Lily wasn't like that at all. After her third movie was completed, she found she was restless and curious about her mother's going ons. Was she spending the day with the mayor? That seemed odd on Valentine's Day. Surely, the brunette had a sweetheart, right? She shrugged before climbing to her feet and heading to exit her room in preparation of tracking down the two women. When she opened the door she found a small card taped to the outside wood.

Lily's mouth quirked up in amusement. She doubted she had garnered a secret admirer so swiftly in town, especially considering the fact everyone else belonged to a story, most prominently in regards to love. Not to mention, she hardly interacted with anyone but her mother, the mayor, Henry and Emma. Everyone else she avoided like the plague but treated them with respect and mild disdain in encounters. Plucking the card stock from the door, she opened it to find scrawled in a tight neat cursive: _'I will be spending the night with your father if you wish to spy a glance'_. She chuckled. Okay, mother.

The young brunette glanced at her phone's clock real quick before she closed the door and headed outside to attempt to find her mother. This was definitely worth sticking around for the past five months. Well...she did enjoy learning about being a dragon and how to fly. Magic was coming more slowly and it was frightening how open the blonde was with her. Comforting to know she was never lying to her but so different from everything and everyone else she had ever known in this world. Which was probably why she had stayed in Storybrooke so long.

The bottom of the sun had just reached the horizon as evidenced by orange and purple streaks through the skies and peeking in between the trees. It was a lovely sight, if Lily admitted it to herself. There must be plenty of people out and about, enjoying the majestic view on this dumb holiday. Which was probably why her mother had met up with her father tonight. She didn't ever register the thought of where he had come from and why she was meeting him tonight of all nights. Or...rather seeing him at the very least. The blonde had made it seem like her partner was shy and wasn't prepared to meet their kin quite yet. It annoyed her, but Lily would respect those wishes this time. Valentine's Day was about couples and romance after all...

She compared herself to a bloodhound as she sought out her mother's distinct scent within the town to follow her whereabouts and figure out where she was currently. This would be far easier if she were in dragon form, but that was the worst possible way to be stealthy so she forced herself to take care in tracking the scent with her human tinged nose so as to not screw up. Lily had decided not to follow the smell directly but cut through some trees to come upon the pair elusively and remain hidden. Once she made it through the main thicket of trees, she saw the clearing ahead was a cute little walkway with a small pond in the center.

Her brown eyes darted around the place looking for the ever familiar blonde hair belonging to her mother when she caught a glimpse of the mayor approaching from her left on the path. Lily ducked back further in case she wasn't as invisible as she assumed she was. Thankfully, the older brunette didn't notice and kept going, heading only a few meters more before meeting her intended target. To say she was taken aback by who the former queen had come across would be the absolute understatement of the year and they were only two months in. Her mother had stood up from a bench and smiled at her! Then the two had started off down the path just like old times, shoulders brushing more so than usual and talking amongst themselves. Lily's head had tilted to the side as she watched them in rapture, eyes traveling down their bodies to see their hands slowly entwine with the others.

The dragon and mayor circled around the lake, Lily finally noticing how oddly empty the area is at that exact moment. When her eyes are brought back to the pair still visible with the setting sun's rays, her mouth falls open when she sees her mother lean down to plant a soft kiss on the brunette's lips. It stunned her, but she doesn't find herself more shocked when the shorter woman kisses back, nor is she offended at the public display of affection.

 _That_ is what love is, she knows. And that is exactly what she had seen since arriving in town.


End file.
